Women paid tribute to a lesbian couple who had been arrested for holding hands. This arrest for "obscene behavior" took place on a tram in Melbourne, Australia in 1976. Fortunately, things have changed in forty years.

To pay this tribute, Celebrate Ageing, a group of women, met in Melbourne's trams to hold hands.

Catherine Barrett, organizer and director of Celebrate Ageing, said that it was very moving:

"We had 20 lesbian elders board the tram, and a group of LGBTI community members come to send us off.

"We also had a number of straight folks who heard about the project and wanted to come along to show their support.

"This was very moving and brought a number of us to tears."

She also added that women were still afraid to hold hands in public, by fear of people's reactions. Some of these women were straight.

June 1st was the official launch of Gay Pride month across America, which is typically a time for honoring LGBTQ history and celebrating freedom and equality. On June 12th, 2016 the celebrations came to a screeching halt when a gunman targeting gays and lesbians walked into Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida and opened fire killing 49 and injuring 51 people in the largest mass shooting in U.S. history.

One of the most potent yet heartbreaking parts of the shooting was that in the hours that preceded the shooting, the club was full of patrons dancing the night away full of nothing but love, happiness, and pride in a place they felt safe to be who they were.

The shooting hit the LGBTQ community hard, nationwide. Vigils took place all around the world including in San Diego where recording artists and lesbian couple, Danielle LoPresti and Alicia Champion performed live at the vigil in San Diego. Immediately following the vigil the duo started to work on a song that would honor the victims and share a message that the community will not cower to hate and will continue the dance the victims didn't get to finish.

The song, Finish the Dance, is an upbeat dance track with a message of perseverance and love. The track’s opening piano “montuno” and classical guitar pay homage to Latino members of the LGBTQ community who were the majority of those slain that night. The song was written by Champion and LoPresti and co-produced by Champion and UK producer, Jordan Lea. It was officially release on YouTube and Band Camp accompanied by a video montage of the 49 lives lost.

Then, LoPresti and Champion hosted a Facebook Live session to share with fans behind the scenes stories of creating the song and how they plan to honor the victims and the survivors moving forward. The forum was also open for anyone to share memories of what the year has been like for them after the shooting, memories of any of the victims, personal coming out stories, and how fans can continue to support the official fundraising platform for victims and survivors, The One Orlando Fund.

"We wrote Finish the Dance to honor every blessed being whose life was taken a year ago at Pulse. They didn’t get to finish their dance that night because of hate, so we as a community are going to finish it for them and prove that hate will not have the last word in each of their stories. We want to celebrate them, honor them - we want to remember them and the joy and love their lives gave to the communities they were part of," stated LoPresti.

Native of New York, he worked in the American army but had been fired and banned to work as a civil servant in 1958 because he was gay.

This doctor in astronomy had then engaged in a long life of militancy for LGBT rights, fighting against discriminations in the civil service, against anti-gay laws or classification in psychiatry, repealed in 1973, before homosexuality was considered like mental illness.

In 1965, he launched the slogan "Gay Is Good".

There is less than one month, he was in the forefront when Obama signed the repeal of "Don't ask, don't Tell".

More than 70,000 letters, documents and objects, were deposited since 2006 at the Bookstore of the Congress, forming "undoubtedly the most complete collection on the movement for the LGBT rights in America".

No matter where we live, we can all say thank you to Mr. Kameny who, while fighting all his life for our rights, and even if the fight will continue, has allowed to us to have more rights, freedom and equality.

Since its founding in 1998, the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) has been held internationally to help us remember those who have been killed because of prejudice and hatred. This year, the day falls on Sunday, November 20th. Not only will we honor the memory of Rita Hester, whose death led to the founding of TDOR, but we will also pay tribute to those who have been listed in the news this year and others and those who have not.

Visiting TDOR’s website, transgenderdor.org, is devastating, seeing the faces of the men and women who have lost their lives only for being themselves. Each year is carefully documented, listing how an individual died, a location, a name, and sometimes not even a name, not even a photograph.

Remembering is such an important part of moving forward, of knowing the boundaries and being motivated to break them. We need to remember there is danger in simply being one’s self, but also to find strength in the bravery of those who have lost their lives. There is a fine balance, but the only way to continue fighting back, to keep affecting change, is simply to keep living, keep moving, keep being the people we are. And to remember. So on this TDOR, take a moment. Visit the website. Take the time to realize the sacrifices and to renew your dedication to equality. And never forget.